Because Of Her
by BethanyChristine
Summary: Because Chuck realized that by hurting himself he was actually hurting her. C/B
1. Chapter 1

The room was spinning. Everything was getting blurry and the sounds of laughter and music were all melding into one and moving away from him like the tide.

Chuck Bass stood in the middle of Victrola and stared unseeing at the stage where the burlesque dancers where earning their money double fold. His mind was in a fog of memories that never seemed to lift and in that moment, he could almost see her up there ... slowing taking off her headband and throwing it into his waiting hands. Unzipping her dress and letting it fall unhindered to the floor. For just a second he was in that time before ... before his world had come crashing down.

He could hear his heart beating heavily in his chest as the pain came crashing back and his drug-hazed mind snapped painfully into focus.

"Welcome back."

Eric. His little brother. Everywhere he looked, he was confronted with his failures. He could never be the person anyone needed him to be.

"How was Bangkok?"

He really didn't have the energy for this anymore ... the pretending to be someone that he just wasn't capable of being. His weariness showed in his face and voice.

"I honestly don't remember."

"You should come home Chuck."

Home. What was that? Chuck Bass, the richest kid in New York City, was homeless. Always had been actually.

Picking up the nearest bottle Chuck tried to make his escape quickly.

"I think I'll take the view from above."

Nevertheless, even as he tried to leave it at that, a small piece of humanity escaped before he could stop it.

"It was nice having you as my little brother."

Forcing his feet to move he weaved through the crowd needing only to feel the cool wind on his face and to see that New York skyline again. How he had missed the lights and sounds of the city.

Rooftops. They had always represented freedom to him. He could go there and feel like he was on top of the world. No one could ever be stifled on a rooftop. There was just so much air up there.

Opening the door he could sense the cold night immediately creep into his skin, tingling and numbing. Chuck opened his bottle and poured the fiery liquid down his throat. It burned all the way down and warmed his chilled skin. Finally, his mind starting floating again and his memories drifted to a song his British nanny used to sing to him when he couldn't sleep ... It always held the nightmares at bay ...

Now let every man drink off his full bumper,

And let every man drink off his full glass;

We'll drink and be jolly and drown melancholy,

And here's to the health of each true-hearted lass.

Another drink slid down. And another. Chuck felt his feet guide him to the ledge. The wind was whispering all of his greatest fears come true into his ears and his fathers face swam before his bloodshot, alcohol-hazed eyes. The song carried him along in its wake almost as if he was no longer in control of his body.

Farewell and adieu to you

Spanish Ladies

Farewell and Adieu

To You

The bottle lifted to his lips once more and he leaned back as far as he could trying his best to breathe the alcohol into his mind and burn away the memories and the pain. When the roof tilted under his feet, for one brief moment, Chuck thought he was going to fall and as he stood there watching his liquid salvation race to the earth and shatter into a million pieces he wondered if that would be a bad thing.

"Chuck!"

Spinning around he saw his dear old uncle Jack and his sweet, beautiful Blair staring at him as if he were insane. Which clearly he was.

"God you idiot! You don't surprise someone standing off the edge of a building!"

Chuck could feel a little laugh form in his throat. Leave it to Blair to give a verbal dressing down to his suave uncle Jack. She never did disappoint did she?

"Chuck come away from there. Let's go down and join the party."

Why wouldn't everyone just leave him alone?

"I was at the party I'm not really that into it."

Party? Sucked. Royally. Blair hadn't been there. And everyone else had.

"Chuck your father wouldn't have wanted this."

Now that was a laugh. If there were one thing his father probably would not have minded it was for his son to take a flying leap off a Bass Industries Skyscraper. Would have cleaned up a long-standing nuisance.

"Dear old Dad? Unfortunately, all I know is what he didn't want. Which is me."

Looking over the edge and into the lights, he could feel the anguish twisting inside at the truth finally acknowledged. From the moment he had been born, his father had been trying to get away from him. Death really was Bart's final victory. Leaving his son with a billion dollar name and nothing else. Not even the belief that someone who loved him was now up there watching over him.

"I'm Chuck Bass."

He yelled into the abyss. Would the wind whisper a reprieve? Would the world stop turning to console him? Silence was his only answer. It had been greeting his pleas for help for almost two decades why should that stop now?

"No one cares."

And there it was. The most painful truth of them all. There was no more lying to himself allowed. The mantra continued in his head unceasingly. No one cared. No one cared.

No one cared about Chuck Bass.

For a second he really thought about jumping. One step and it could all be over. His gazed locked onto the horizon and the wind whipped his hair. Why not? No one cared.

"I do."

Her voice broke through the fog like a wrecking ball into a brick wall. Tearing his eyes from the distance, he turned to look at the girl whose arms had once provided solace and whose chocolate brown eyes now pleaded him glistening with dewy tears not to do this.

"Don't you understand? I'll always be here ..." Her voice caught in her throat. "I don't want you going anywhere."

_"I'll stand by you through anything."_ She had said that. And here he was standing on a ledge. And there she was with her heart in her eyes yet again.

"I couldn't bear it."

Chuck's head cleared a little bit more as he looked deeply into her face and saw the meaning behind her words.

"So whatever you want to do to yourself, please don't do that to me."

And then the realization hit like an anvil. His hurting himself was hurting _her_. Deep in his heart, he knew that if he went down in flames he would be taking her with him. And it wouldn't matter how much he tried to push her away from him. She would always be there. He could do that to himself without a second thought.

But not to Blair.

Never to Blair.

Slowly she reached her tiny hand up to him. A part of him was afraid to grasp it.

Then she spoke softly and her word caressed his heart.

"Please." He knew that she was begging for his life. Maybe even for her own as well. And he needed to stop her pain more than he needed even to stop his own.

Bending down he placed his cold, wind-chapped hand into her soft warm one and felt her grip close around him, strong and sure. Looking down he realized what they were doing.

Chuck and Blair were holding hands.

When he had said that he could never picture them doing that, he could not have imagined that a trivial act normal couples do everyday would be the one thing that stood between him and certain death. Physical and emotional.

She always managed to break every concept. A more amazing girl could not possibly exist. And he had hurt her. He'd run away. He'd thrown her I love you back in her face, even though he'd known what saying it had cost her. Then he had almost left her forever by getting drunk and standing on a ledge.

Her hand pulled him down from the edge and the relief in her face made his bravado crumble. He needed her warmth to surround him again and so he buried his face in her shoulder and felt her hands cup the back of his head to hold him to her in a death grip of epic proportions.

"I'm sorry."

The words seemed so small compared to what he had done but they came out on a broken sob and he knew that she understood. They were all that he could manage.

"It's okay." She whispered gently into his ear her breath warm and sweet upon his skin.

"It's okay."

And somehow, because of her, it was


	2. Black Out

Well I wasn't entirely sure that I was going to do anything more until I sat down tonight after watching yesterdays show again for the 15th time and an idea just started taking shape. This is my version of what happened between Blair and freaky Uncle Jack. And not in this chapter but in one to come we will see what Chuck's reaction is to what happened. Or didn't happen as the case may be. It'll probably only be a few chapters long because once the episode airs and we see how it really plays out I won't be able to write it anymore so I plan on getting it done before Monday. Thanks to the sweet people who reviewed the first chapter it always means so much and also if anyone reading this also read my One Shot ~ Solace ~ and reviewed it I wanted to give a big shout out to you all and say THANK YOU!!! It meant so much to me!

Quick note - Italic's are flashbacks.

* * *

Blair watched the limo pull away from the curb and felt the Goosebumps solidify on her skin. Jack Bass was up to no good.

Not that that was any surprise to her considering the secret that they shared. How could she have been so stupid?

Jack had shown up a week after the funeral. 6 days after Chuck had disappeared and had taken control of everything. He slept in Bart's home. Sat at Bart's desk. Took Bart's phone calls. At first, everyone had been relieved because he seemed to know what to do to bring the broken pieces back together. And he professed to only want to help. That he was just steering the reigns until Chuck was ready to take over. He had even hired a private detective to look for his nephew.

Blair had gone to visit Lily one day to see if there was any word, and instead of the Van Der Bass matron greeting her at the elevator she had been met by this man who was unmistakably Bart's brother.

He'd acted concerned because he could tell that she was scared and worried for Chuck. He had assured her that he would find him and bring him home. Everything would be fine.

Blair watched the car until it turned the corner and then she started walking home. Not the brightest idea for a girl who was currently in the bowery to be walking to her high rise on the upper east side but she needed to think.

Actually, she needed to remember. She had never in her life been drunk enough to black out before. But then she had also never been grieving for someone who was still alive before either.

Her Mom and Cyrus had left for Paris the day after Christmas. Serena had been in Buenos Aires. All of her minions where spending winter break with their families. Nate had been away somewhere with Vanessa. And she had been alone. With Dorota of course but she could only do so much to fill Blair's time enough to keep her from thinking about HIM.

So along had come New Years Eve and Blair had needed to forget. Desperately. She didn't want to keep thinking about Chuck all alone out there somewhere probably drinking and smoking whatever he could get his hands on. And being Chuck Bass meant that he could get his hands on whatever he wanted. He was in pain and she knew that he needed her but she couldn't find him. Couldn't get to him. And the pain was tearing her up inside. She felt like a vase with a crack in it. A little more pressure and everything would fall apart.

So she had needed to decompress. Spend some time doing something that would make her forget. And she had learned from the best about how to forget.

If Chuck was drinking his way through Monaco or Milan or Timbuktu so that he could forget than surely she could drink her way through New Years to do the same.

* * *

_She was dressed in a bright red silk dress that ended three inches above her knee and thick eyeliner and mascara. Her hair tumbled carelessly down her back sans the headband. Tonight she was just another girl out to have a good time. _

_Tonight she wasn't the girl who loved Chuck Bass. _

_Dorota hovers nervously at her doorway and begs Blair to let her come with her. But a girl doesn't want a babysitter when she's planning to get wasted._

_She decided that she didn't care who saw her. It didn't really matter anymore. It might in the morning but not tonight. _

_She started with the Bowery Ballroom catching the cool musical performances and slamming back a few cocktails. But eventually the indie rock got a little too moody for her and she decided that maybe a flat out tacky dance club would be exactly what she needed. Feeling a buzz, she stumbled outside and hailed a cab. Once inside she said simply ... _

_"Take me somewhere that I can party and get drunk enough to have a hangover in the morning." _

_Smirking slightly the driver pulled into traffic and before she knew it, she was standing outside of a club with neon lights and loud music. She stepped through the doors and into everything she had ever despised. Vinyl booths tucked away in dark corners. Floors littered with empty plastic cups and cigarette butts. There were laser lights and smoke filling the air. Taking a deep breath, she almost choked on the smell of sweating body's and alcohol. _

_Slowly a sparkle started to twinkle in her eyes and a small smile played about the corner of her lips._

_Chuck Bass would never be caught dead in a place like this._

_It was perfect._

_Wading through the crowd of revelers, she approached the bar and flashed her fake id. This time she wasn't screwing around with fruity concoctions._

_"Tequila please. As many in a row as you can fit." _

_While the cute bartender looked at her skeptically, she licked the back of her hand and slowly poured salt onto the moist patch. Lining up four shots, he filled them all at once and then placed a bowl of limes on the counter. _

_Lick it. Slam it. Suck it. One down._

_Lick it. Slam it. Suck it. Two down. _

_By the time she reached number four without a pause in between the cute bartender was cheering her on and the other patrons of the bar had taken notice. _

_Looking up she asked for another round._

_Four more shot glasses were lined up and filled. _

_Lick it. Slam it. Suck it. Five down._

_Six down._

_She could hear the others counting for her as a flush started to creep up her legs and spread into her chest._

_Seven down._

_Her head was starting to fog. So this was how this felt. No wonder Chuck used it as a coping mechanism. It was much more pleasant than puking your guts out. _

_Eight down._

_What was she thinking about again? _

Blair didn't realize she had been stomping angrily down the sidewalk until her stiletto boots started to punish her by sending hot pokers up the soles of her feet. Slowing down she struggled to remember why she had ever thought that going to the Bass apartment was a good idea that night.

_It was well passed midnight and the bartender had cut her off. She'd lost count of the number of shots she had accumulated in her blood stream after that fateful number eight. She was floating and quite happy. But she didn't want to go home just yet. She was wasted completely but she still wanted to wish Chuck a happy new year. _

Surely, there was a part of her sodden mind that knew he wasn't where he was supposed to be but she clearly hadn't been thinking straight.

_The elevator doors opened and she stepped out into the dark empty foyer. Stumbling heavily up the stairs she started down the hallway toward his room when she heard someone say her name as if from far away._

_"Blair? What are you doing here?"_

_Turning around sharply she lost her balance as the room spun around her. Reaching out she grasped the wall to steady her and blinked quickly to clear her eyes. Jack was standing in front of her wearing nothing but a robe. _

_"Jack." Was that her voice? It sounded funny. _

_She giggled. And then she shushed herself._

_"Shhhh. I want to surprise him." _

_"Surprise who Blair?" _

_"Well duh silly ... Chuck … He's my boy ya know? Or he's my man ... Or guy. Yeah he's my guy. Actually he's my future guy because we can't stop the puzzle right now but someday maybe in the fut ...." _

_She hiccupped, effectively cutting off the rest of her speech. _

_Jack approached her and reached out his hand to caress her face._

_"Chuck's not here right now Blair. Remember? He took off."_

_Getting angry at herself for forgetting and feeling like something was wrong here she pushed his hand away wishing for the first time that night that she could think straight. _

_"Of course I remember." _

_Using the wall as a makeshift crutch, she started down the hallway back towards the stairs. _

_"Blair? Don't you think that maybe your a little to drunk to be out in the city alone at night?"_

_She could feel the slime in his voice and wondered why he had never seemed creepy until just now._

_"I'll be fine. I've ... been ... fine ... all ..... "_

_She felt heavy and knew that her knees where going to buckle at any moment. She was never going to make it home on her own. So she stopped and leaned her forehead against the wall. Turning slowly she looked at Chuck's uncle. And against her better alcohol impaired judgment, she said the magic words._

_"Will you take me home please?"_

_Smiling slightly he came towards her again and put his hand on her arm._

_"Of course my dear. You'll be safe with me. I promise." _

That was the last thing she remembered before the next morning which was a waking nightmare that had haunted her ever since.

_The sunlight was pouring through the windows and cutting a path right down the middle of her face piercing her closed lids and disturbing her already pounding head. Why the hell hadn't Dorota closed the curtains last night? Slowly and very tentatively, Blair opened one eye._

_And then realized that she wasn't in her room. _

_Sitting up abruptly, she ignored the lightning bolt that streaked through her head and blurred her vision. Where was she? What had happened? _

_Oh God. What did she do? _

_Struggling frantically with her memories, she was even more alarmed when she looked down and saw that she was wearing nothing but her bra and panties. Feeling the panic starting to build and knowing that any second she was going to heave the contents of her stomach onto the silk covers on the bed she stood up wrapping the sheet around her body._

_Wait a second ... Silk covers? And was that picture on the wall Lily's Degas? She knew this room. She was in the Bass apartment._

_And then suddenly her night came flooding back just as the door opened and Jack Bass walked in carry a glass of water and still wearing nothing but that blasted robe that he'd had on last night._

_"Good morning sunshine! I wondered when you were going to wake up. Although I don't blame you for being exhausted after the night we had." _

_Padding barefoot to her, he took her hand and placed two aspirin in it then handed her the glass of water._

_Numbly she took the offering as her mind tried to process what he meant. Did she ... No she couldn't have. She wouldn't have. _

_"Oh yes you did." He said as if reading her mind. And then she got angry. She couldn't remember but she knew that he had taken advantage of her vulnerability._

_"But I asked you to take me home Jack." She started slowly ... He cut her off._

_"Yes but before we had even taken two steps down the hall you threw yourself into my arms and said that any Bass would do ... I'm only a man Blair and you were quite persuasive. Plus I find you incredibly alluring ... I can understand my nephew's fascination with you completely."_

_Blair gripped the glass of water and felt the scalding tears burn the back of her eyes. She had to get out of here. _

_"Where are my clothes?" _

_She followed the direction of his nod and found them lying in a puddle by the door. She picked them up and ran out into the bathroom trying desperately to escape the ice blue eyes that seemed to chill her with their coldness._

* * *

After Blair had made her hasty exit that morning she had been trying to remember what had really happened. She still couldn't believe that she would sleep with Chuck's uncle. But she couldn't be sure that she hadn't either. All she knew was that she felt dirty and violated.

But now Chuck was back and yes. he had just tried to jump off a ledge, but he had taken her hand and stepped off of it into her arms. She couldn't let him know what his uncle had done. What she had done. It would destroy the fragile hold he still had on his sanity. Worst of all it would make him question her love.

And that was something she just couldn't let happen.

Chuck could never know.

* * *

Whew so that was reallllllly long but I just couldn't cut anything and I wanted it all in one chapter! So if you made it this far thank THANKS!! And I am sending you a big cyber hug right now!!!!


	3. Where There's A Will

The sky was gray.

How fitting, Chuck thought as he stared out the window of his penthouse at the plaza. A cold gray morning was the perfect setting for the reading of his father's last will and testament.

Turning away from the window Chuck walked to the mirror and straightened his tie. The disheveled look he had been sporting for the past weeks wasn't acceptable anymore. After he had stared into Blair's eyes last night and seen the pain that his self-destruction was causing her he'd realized that it had to stop. No matter how much angst he felt where his father was concerned he did have a reason to stop the cycle.

She was like a light in a pitch-black room to him. He refused to watch her dim.

So here he was shaved, showered and pressed to perfection. Every hair was in place and for the first time since he had been back in New York he didn't smell like alcohol. He wasn't healed. He doubted he ever would be, there was just too much baggage. But he had a reason to stop dicking around.

He had something to live for. Or rather someone.

He looked at the clock on his dresser ... 9:37. Time to leave.

----------

Sitting at the solicitors office in between his Uncle and his father's cheating wife, Lily, Chuck felt more than a little antsy. The leather chair was too stiff underneath and his collar was starting to close around his throat.

The lawyer read off all the preliminary information. Then proceeded to donations left to charity and bequests to old family employees'.

It seemed to take an eternity and Chuck was really starting to wonder why he had come at all. He knew his father would leave him more than enough money to live well on for the rest of his life. Bart Bass had never been a good father to his son emotionally or mentally. Nevertheless, he had always kept him supplied with plenty of funds. Just as Chuck was starting to think about just standing up and walking out the old man behind the desk raised his head from the paper he was reading and looked at Chuck over the top of his glasses.

"Now onto the majority of my estate. To my wife Lily Bass I leave a 29 percent interest in my company Bass industries. To my younger brother Jack I leave a 20 percent interest in the same. Finally, to my son Charles Bass I leave a controlling share of 51 percent interest ..... "

Chuck didn't really hear the rest of the legal jargon because his mind was stuck on the fact that his father had literally left him in charge of his baby. Bart's company had been more important to him than anything else in his life had. And he was leaving in it the hands of his 18-year-old son. It didn't make any sense to him.

The solicitor guy (because really he just couldn't be bothered to remember people's names right now) finished his monotone reading and looked up at Chuck again. Taking a leather portfolio out of his drawer, he stood up and walked around the desk so that he could hand it to Chuck personally.

"Your father wrote you a letter. I suggest that you read it now."

Chuck felt the soft cool material slide into his hand and he turned it over to open it. Inside was a crisp white envelope with his fathers scrolling handwriting sprawled on the outside, it said simply "Chuck". Reaching in to pull it out his hand brushed against something else. Pulling it out Chuck recognized it as a picture .... Of his mother. His breathing hitched and his heart stopped briefly before slamming back into his chest. She was so beautiful. Her long brown hair cascaded over one shoulder as she smiled provocatively into the camera. Her body was turned to the side and one hand rested possessively on her protruding belly. Chuck had never seen a picture of his mother pregnant with him. She looked so happy and ... excited?

For some reason he had never imagined that she'd actually wanted him. That maybe she had been looking forward to giving birth. To being a mother.

It really was true that a picture could speak a thousand words. Seeing her so full of life and expectant joy filled him with a peace he'd never expected to find.

He put the picture in his breast pocket and turned back to his original task. Snapping the seal on his father's trademark stationary Chuck stood and strode to the window, turning his back on the rooms other occupants.

My son ...

--------------

Blair stood outside of the solicitors office waiting for the Bass family to depart. She hadn't wanted to intrude on the proceedings, she simply wanted to be there for Chuck when it was over. Leaning against the walnut paneled wall she stared pensively into space. She hoped he was okay. She hoped that eventually he would be able to come back to her. She hoped that her stupidity didn't destroy them both.

When the door opened, she straightened from the wall. Lily exited first throwing a small smile in Blair's direction before taking off. Next came Chuck, striding purposely out of the door with Jack trailing behind him smirking. Blair quickly stepped into Chuck's line of vision and prayed that his moments of pushing her away were over.

Seeing her standing there made him slow his stride. He stopped when he reached her side and she held her breath while she waited for his reaction. He didn't look happy. He also didn't say anything. Instead, he handed her an envelope with the Bass seal on the back and Chuck's name sprawled on the front. A letter from his father? Blair had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at what this would do to him now. He'd finally cleaned himself up and at this close proximity, she could smell his cologne. It sent shivers down her spine. God she loved the way he smelled.

His look was intense and disturbed and as she looked from him to the letter and back again she knew instinctively that he wanted her to read it. Opening it, she drew out a single sheet of paper and scanned the paper. Chuck's gruff voice sounded in her ear.

"Read it out loud."

She searched his face for some meaning but it was as hard as granite. Clearing her throat, she began ...

"My Son,

By now you know that I have left you a majority share in Bass Industry ... "

Blair paused to look up and this time she caught his gaze. Meeting her eyes, he gave an imperceptible nod as if to acknowledge the truth of his father's statement.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I would entrust the care of something that I spent my life building, into your hands. The answer is not simple. I honestly don't know if you are capable of filling my shoes as CEO. You will be a very powerful man Chuck. Use it well. Use it better than I did. I have always had high expectations and I'll admit that you didn't always live up to them. But here's your chance. Stand up and take responsibility for something. Show me for once that you care about something more than drinking and whores.

This company is my legacy to you, my Son ... I challenge you not to destroy it."

Blair's voice faltered towards the end and the final sentence was uttered in a whisper. She looked up and could see Chuck's throat working to hold back the emotions that were so obviously threatening to spill out. She really didn't know what to say. A final letter to the child you've left behind should have been full of more I Love You's than I Challenge You's. Bart should have taken the opportunity to tell his son that he was sorry for being such a sucky father and he should have admitted that everything wrong between them was his own fault. Not Chuck's.

She wanted to reach out to him but before she could, he stormed out of the door. Running to catch him she threw open the iron and glass impediment and flew down the concrete steps to reach him in the courtyard in front of the building. Grabbing his arm, she spun him around.

"Chuck ... I'm sorry"

Her apology caught him off guard and his stone-faced expression faltered in confusion. Softening he looked at the ground.

"For what Blair? The fact that my father is setting me up to fail from beyond the grave? That's not your fault."

"You're not going to fail Chuck. You and I both now that if you wanted to you could take Bass Industries farther than even Bart ever dreamed possible. I actually believe you could rule the world if you wanted to."

She broke off with a slight smile and Chuck's eyes warmed as he watched the humor creep into her expression.

"Just don't let him keep you down anymore Chuck. I know you loved him. I believe that he loved you too. He just never knew how to show it." Crumpling the paper into a ball, she dropped it onto the ground ... "Obviously. But for the record Chuck, I need you to know that if this is what you want to do ... be CEO of Bass Industries ... Than I'll be right by your side. And if you want to tell your father one last time that he can go to hell and let Bass rot on it's own devices ... Than I'll still be right by your side.

So stop running away from me. Stop shutting me out ... Okay? It's getting really old."

She reached out and took his cold hand into both of her smaller ones.

"I miss you Chuck. I need you to be here with me."

Chuck could feel his heart expand in his chest a little bit at her words. He didn't know how to believe her. He'd never really experienced unconditional love before. He didn't know if it really existed. But something in her eyes promised him that all he needed was to surrender to it and she would handle the rest.

Talk about ruling the world. Blair had that position on lock down.

Blair could see in his eyes the moment .. The exact second that the real Chuck Bass came back. His eyes glowed with unfulfilled promise and tender vulnerability but the boy that she had fallen in love with was finally looking back out at her.

He raised his free hand to her face and cupped her cheek gently and then slowly he leaned down and took possession of her lips.

What started slow and gentle quickly turned wild and savage. They had been devoid of themselves for far too long. Breathing each other in like air, their clasped hands broke apart. Chuck's hands moved to the small of Blair's back bringing her body as close to his as possible while her's reached up to push his head down and deepen the kiss.

Looking on you couldn't tell where one ended and the other began.

Which was exactly what Jack Bass noticed as he stood within the building looking out of the door at them. This was the first time Chuck had shown any signs of life since he had picked him up out a Bangkok brothel. Blair Waldorf was obviously too much of a good influence on his young nephew.

Something would have to be done about that.


	4. The End

Chuck watched until Blair disappeared into her building on Fifth Avenue.

For the first time in over a month, he was starting to feel alive again. Self-destruction was no longer his number one priority, Blair was.

She had proven her love for him in so many ways over the past weeks. Looking back Chuck wanted to kick himself for getting lost so completely that he had deliberately caused her pain. But for some reason she was still there. Taking all of his crap and coming back for more. And it was a good thing that she had. Otherwise, he would probably be dead by now.

Now he was about to become the chief executive officer of a billion dollar company. He didn't know what the future held but he knew that he was going to make up for everything that he had put her through.

Jack was waiting at the plaza for him when he got home. Drinking a glass of single malt and lounging restlessly on the sofa he looked up when Chuck walked in.

"Well, well ... Nephew of mine ... how did your little Tete a Tete with Blair go? You two certainly seemed to be getting along quite nicely this morning."

Chuck felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up and wondered why his Uncle seemed to have an air of menace to him all of a sudden.

"Blair and I are good. We're having dinner tonight."

"Aw dinner. How provincial. By dinner, I assume you mean feasting on each other. Blair's quite good at that isn't she?"

Chuck stiffened and slowly turned away from the side bar where he had been pouring himself a glass of water.

"What is that supposed to mean exactly?"

Jack knew that he was taking a gamble here. Blair could remember what had really happened that night after she had passed out and his entire story would be blown. But he had her completely convinced that they had actually done the deed. If he could convince her than surely he could convince Chuck. And if he could convince Chuck than it would be bye bye to Blair, hello again to escapism through drugs and alcohol.

"Oh you mean Blair didn't tell you about our private little party on New Years Eve?"

Chuck's face turned to stone and Jack went in for the kill.

"She came to see me right after midnight. I guess she was lonely and needed someone to comfort her. I tried to tell her that I couldn't do that to you but she'd had a few drinks and just couldn't keep her hands off of me. And well you know how that is ..."

Jack let his words trail off, leaving the rest to his nephew's imagination.

Chuck's voice came out on a ragged breath ....

"Blair would never touch you."

Jack laughed.

Bingo.

"Maybe you should ask her about that my boy."

Jack started to walk past him and out of the room when the sound of the elevator stopping at their floor turned both of their attentions.

The doors slid open to reveal Blair standing inside. Catching sight of Jack looking smug and Chuck looking both angry and devastated she felt a tendril of dread streak through her stomach.

Stepping into the penthouse, she walked over to stand in front of Chuck, the tears already forming in her eyes at the pain she knew she had caused him. Pain that he didn't need and couldn't handle right now. He swallowed hard and she braced herself for his attack. But he didn't explode. He didn't accuse or lash out. Instead, his voice came out softly with an edge of despair to it.

"Tell me exactly what happened between you and my uncle."

She took a deep breath. What happened? Damned if she knew.

"I don't really know Chuck. It was New Year's and I was feeling reckless and alone. I went to a bar and did a bunch of shots. Somehow, in my stumbling delusions I thought that you were at the Bass penthouse and I decided that I needed to wish you a happy new year, why, I have no idea. Nothing really makes sense when you're drunk. But by the time I realized you weren't there and that I needed to go home before I passed out it was too late. Jack found me in the hallway. I think I asked him to take me home but I'm not sure. I don't remember anything else until the next morning when I woke up ... in his bed."

Keeping the tears at bay through sheer force of will, she reached her hand up to cover her mouth and looked back at him.

"I'm so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking ... I wish I could remember ...."

Chuck had remained silent and unreadable throughout her story but at her apology, a slight twitch started to become visible in his jaw. Fire lit his eyes and she could tell that the explosion was about to come. Bracing herself, she closed her eyes and waited for the verbal blows to start.

But all she felt was a slight breeze and she opened her eyes just in time to see Chuck streaking across the room and slamming Jack Bass up against the wall. Her mouth fell open and she stood still in shock as Chuck got right into his Uncle's face and spoke with deadly menace.

"She was drunk you Bastard. She was vulnerable and you took advantage of her!"

Jack looked as shocked at the outburst as she felt but for some reason he wasn't fighting back. Instead, he looked scared and a little uncertain.

"Chuck I told you she was all over me ..."

Chuck pulled his Uncle forward by his shirt and slammed him back forcefully against the wall a second time ...

"She says the last thing she remembers is asking you to take her home. She asked you for help and then she passed out didn't she? She passed out and instead of taking her home you put her in your bed."

Chuck was getting angrier as all of the pieces were falling into place in his head. For some reason Jack had decided that Blair was a valuable pawn. Someone to be used and manipulated. There was no way she had thrown herself at him. Even drunk Blair had taste.

But if she'd been unconscious and unable to stop him ...

Chuck's free hand closed into a fist as the possibilities swam in front of his eyes.

"What did you do to her? If you put one hand on her I swear to god ... .."

Chuck enunciated every syllable in his threat through clenched teeth. He'd never felt this all-consuming anger before in his entire life. In that moment he knew that if his uncle had hurt her, he would kill him. With his bare hands.

Jack must have seen the devil in his face and realized that the game was over. Chuck believed his girl. And then he realized that his nephew had also jumped to some dangerous conclusions. And wanted to commit murder over them.

Chuck's hands closed around his uncle's throat, his mind blind with rage.

"Whoa Chuck ... calm down. I swear nothing happened. She passed out and I put her to bed. I didn't even sleep in the same room with her. Never mind the same bed. I didn't touch her. Swear to god."

With his anger clouding his thinking process, it took a moment for his uncle's denial to get through to him. Was he telling the truth?

"Swear to me on everything that you own that you didn't touch her …"

"Charles I swear ... I thought that I could use it to screw with you."

"If you're lying to me Jack I promise that when I'm thru with you there won't be a penny left to your name ..."

Slowly he loosened his chokehold from around Jack's neck and turned around to make sure that Blair was ok. Seeing that she was pale and unsteady he knew that he needed to get rid of his uncle.

Feeling an air of authority that he had never possessed before settle on his shoulders like a mantle he ordered his Uncle into exile.

"Get out Jack. Don't ever set foot in New York again and I will let you keep your position in Australia. But I'll be keeping an eye on you. 20 percent holding in Bass Industries doesn't give you very steady ground to stand on. One screw up and your out."

Jack knew when to retreat. He grabbed his coat off the back of the chair he had slung it over and pressed the button for the elevator.

The elevator was fast approaching when he heard the unmistakable clip-clop of high heels on polished marble. He turned around just in time to see Blair's hand coming up straight for his face. The force of her fist hitting his nose snapped his head back and he immediately felt the blood starting to flood over his lips.

"What the hell Blair? I didn't do anything to you."

Her mouth curved into a sadistic snarl of anger as she shook her gloved hand free of the pain her jab had cost her.

"You didn't do anything to me? You let me think that I'd had sex with an ape. You blackmailed me into keeping it from Chuck because you knew how worried I was for him. And then you used it to deliberately cause him pain ..."

Trailing off her words became faint as another realization dawned and this time it brought her knee straight up into his groin.

Jack went down like a ball of lead, gasping for breath.

"You took my clothes off you asshole ... I was unconscious and you took all of my clothes off ... you over the hill pervert."

In that moment the elevator doors opened and Jack managed to pull himself erect enough to step into the sanctuary of the metal box. Swiftly he pressed the "door close" button and made his escape before one of them stuck a knife his gut.

Breathing heavily Blair spun around to face Chuck, tears were streaming down her face from the maelstrom of emotions roiling inside of her. When she spoke her heart was in her voice …

"Thank you for believing me. For taking my side … I'm sorry."

Chuck advanced on her with a tender gate and a look of bemused exasperation on his face. Reaching her side he lifted his hands to her face and wiped away the tears that had carved tracks down her porcelain skin.

"Blair … Please stop apologizing. You didn't do anything wrong. As a matter of fact I should be the one apologizing to you. I've been so lost in my own head that I couldn't seem to stop myself from lashing out at you. And even after I said the meanest thing I could think of to drive you away you came back. You came back and you pulled me away from the edge. Literally and figuratively. Thank you for not giving up on me."

She smiled into his eyes. He smiled into hers. She waited. He couldn't help himself from torturing her for another second. She reached up and brushed his nose with her hand and spoke softly …

"Don't you have something to say to me Chuck Bass? Or do you want a piece of what I gave your uncle?"

Chuck laughed. That was his girl.

"Please Blair. I've always liked my nose and as memory serves you've always liked my other … parts."

The last word came out in a strangled laugh. She rolled her eyes and he caught her hand in his own.

Sobering Chuck looked deep into her eyes and said the words that had been burning in his heart for well over a year.

"The worst thing you've ever done .. The darkest thought you've ever had. I will stand by you through anything …"

Her eyes glowed at the recognition of the words she had spoken to him weeks earlier. He had a feeling that she knew exactly how much they had comforted him in his time of deepest grief.

"And why would you do that?" She said in a whisper so soft he could have imagined it.

"Because I love you."

He kissed her forehead sweetly.

"Because I'm done running away from you."

He gently kissed both of her eyes.

"And because you just kneed my uncle in the balls."

And with that he devoured her lips in a savage assault of promise and desire.

Neither intended to breathe anything other than each other for a long, long time to come.

The end.

* * *

Thank you so much for reading!!! Hopefully you enjoyed my version of what I would love to see on the show .. no Jack/Blair sex and Chuck not even doubting her love for a second. Seriously I hope the writers just don't even go there with Jack/Blair ~Fingers Crossed~

Let me know what you think!!


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